1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of antennas, and more specifically, to a wafer based scanning phased-array antenna.
2. Description of the Related Arts
A conventional wafer antenna is typically fabricated with radiating antenna elements laid out in a fan shape on a silicon germanium (SiGe) or gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate. Active elements such as phase shifters that couple to the radiating antenna elements are typically soldered or bonded in as discrete components on a circuit board together with the antenna elements built on the SiGe or GaAs substrate.
As such, manufacturing such conventional wafer antenna is time intensive and costly. In addition, SiGe and GaAs based wafers are expensive to manufacture. Thus, there is a need for a wafer antenna that is more convenient and cost-effective to produce. Also, there is a need for a wafer antenna whose the radiation pattern may be more effectively and conveniently controlled.